5 Matches to Make After ‘Fedor vs. Werdum’

Jun 28, 2010

Fedor Emelianenko vs Fabricio Werdum: Dave
Mandel/Sherdog.com

Everyone take a deep breath and relax: Fedor losing does not mean
the Mayans are right about 2012. Instead of watching Roland
Emmerich movies in search of answers, get yourself a raving
crackpot opinion on what Strikeforce should do after the
Fedor-ocalypse.

With that in mind, Strikeforce’s best bet is to give Emelianenko a
rematch with Werdum rather than jump through hoops for a few months
trying to make a bout with Strikeforce heavyweight champion
Alistair
Overeem a reality. The other issue is that pitting either
Emelianenko or Werdum against Overeem lacks the cache at this
moment to generate the hype and revenue Strikeforce needs it
to.

Besides, after more than seven years as the sport’s pre-eminent
heavyweight, Emelianenko at least deserves the opportunity to
avenge his first loss in nearly a decade.

The Winner vs. Alistair Overeem

Werdum didn’t just tip over the apple cart. He went at it with an
adamantium axe and shot the pieces through a particle
accelerator.

This leaves Overeem in a difficult position: A fight with Werdum
won’t pack seats like a bout with Emelianenko would, but a bout
with Emelianenko makes no sense right now. Painful as it may sound,
the best move for Strikeforce is to get two high-profile
heavyweight bouts out of this disaster instead of just one.

Now that Le can happily scarf down pizza and chocolate chip cookies
again, the question becomes whether or not he’ll ever make his way
back to the cage. Cashing checks for bit parts in Kung-Fu flicks is
much easier than making it through a MMA training camp, and Le can
eat all the trans fats he wants as long as his fights remain
choreographed.

This is a huge if, but if Le wants to keep on fighting, he needs to
go all in now and make it clear he wants in on the inevitable
middleweight title tournament. This would run counter to everything
Le has said about the tournament thus far, which is probably the
best explanation for why he should be regarded as an afterthought
rather than a serious contender.

It’s no secret that the relationship between Toughill and
Strikeforce makes the Manson family look like the Brady Bunch.

It’s also no secret that a match between Toughill and Santos is the
most compelling and competitive bout Strikeforce could put together
on the female side of the ledger. Dominant as Santos has been, her
striking defense remains a glaring weakness and no one is better
equipped than Toughill to take advantage of that flaw.

Getting through contentious negotiations is always a challenging
process, but if Strikeforce could handle M-1 Global, it can
certainly make this fight happen.

This might be the best action fight Strikeforce can put on right
now. It needs to happen before Beerbohm gets even more fed up with
Strikeforce’s mismanagement of his career.

One of the only homegrown names in the organization, Beerbohm has
gained a considerable following despite being inexplicably kept off
live broadcasts. His scrambling, madcap style lends itself to
entertaining fights, and Thomson is glad to keep a speed-freak
pace.

With Gilbert
Melendez awaiting a challenger to his lightweight crown,
Strikeforce would do well putting this fight on a big card and
hyping up a title shot for the winner. If they’re not careful,
Strikeforce just might end up with a compelling storyline.